SIALKOT: The Sialkot education department has closed down the Govt Boys Primary School Beeni Sulehriyaan in Sabzpeer Markaz of Pasrur tehsil.

The officials said it was the only school for the primary education of the children in the area. Giving the reasons for the closure, they said the number of students enrolled in the school had reduced a lot due to missing facilities, including furniture, potable water, toilets, electricity and classrooms. Some unidentified people had already taken away the doors and windows of the classrooms of the building. Some influential people of the village were using the building as cattle shed and storeroom for their fodder.

The locals termed the education department officials responsible for the missing facilities, saying they had repeatedly brought the miserable situation into their notice but they remained unmoved. They said that instead of providing the school with the missing facilities and repair its building, the education department closed down the school. The students, very few in number, were shifted to another school.

In absence of the public school, the children of the poor, belonging to the dozens of the surrounding villages, are forced to send their children to private schools in Pasrur and even in Sialkot.

The local people have urged Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Sialkot Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Tahir Wattoo to take notice of the school closure and asked the officials to reopen it after provision of the missing facilities.

MOLESTED: A minor child was molested by two men at village Matteyki Sahiyaan, Daska tehsil.

The suspects lured the child by giving him some toffees and took him to an under-construction building. On hearing hue and cry of the child, the locals gathered there and the suspects fled. The victim was shifted to Daska Civil Hospital in critical condition. Daska Saddar police registered a case against both the suspects with no arrest yet.

Meanwhile, some unidentified suspects kidnapped a 12-year-old boy from near his school at village Glotiyaan Mor, Daska tehsil. The victim was identified as Khuzaima, son of a labourer, Muhammad Younas. Bambaanwala police have registered a case.

KILLED: A man was killed in a road accident near village Doongiyaanwala, Pasrur, on Sunday.

Saleem Masih, a sweeper at the THQ Hospital Pasrur, was travelling on motorcycle when it had a collision with another motorcycle. As a result of the collision, Saleem died on the spot.

Meanwhile, a five-year-old child, identified as Haroon, lost his life after falling down from rooftop of his house while flying kite in Sialkot city’s Muradpur locality.

Haroon fell down in the street from the rooftop. He was shifted to local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

VACANT POSTS: Thirty posts, including that of a director, have been lying vacant in the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) since long. As a result, 50,000 deserving women, out of total 125,000 registered with the BISP, had not been getting their financial aid for the last six months.

According to the officials concerned, the posts of a director, 16 supervisors, six naib qasids, four watchmen and four of assistants have been lying vacant in the programme in the region.

SIKHS: The Sikh community in Pakistan, India and Europe has warmly welcomed the Pakistan government’s proposed plan to open the border along India to facilitate the Sikh pilgrims for their visits to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Shakargarh.

Giyani Gobind Singh, administrator Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, told the visiting journalists that the early opening of Pak-India border was on the cards. He said visa-free entry of the Sikh pilgrims to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, after opening the Pak-India border would be a great facility for the Sikh pilgrims.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2018